St. Stephen Catholic School
March 9, 2023
Important updates in this week's Tidbits
March Madness Raffle
CSTAG Application in FACTS
PTCO Book Exchange
Rice Bowls
Lenten Fish Fry
Volunteer Opportunities
Personalize Yearbook
Principal's Points
Good Afternoon St. Stephen Families,
Spring is in the air and I'm sure many are looking forward to our mini spring break with the upcoming four-day weekend. Please remember that this weekend is also Holy Card/Uniform weekend and students who receive a holy card may have free dress on Wednesday, March 15 when we return.
The parish is in need of more Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to assist with the distribution of the Eucharist at Mass. Please consider joining this ministry. Details about the upcoming training are below.
Remember to sell your Raffle tickets and support our fundraiser. Proceeds will go toward updates to the Morning Show and Playground.
Remember to read Tidbits every week to keep up-to-date on happenings at school.
Peace,
Linda Umoh
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Training
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) have the privilege to assist our clergy with the distribution of the Body and Blood of Jesus at all Masses. Ministry members must be practicing Catholics who have received the Sacraments including Confirmation, and if married, must have been married in a Catholic church. They must also be active members of the parish. EMHCs are scheduled for Masses based on their availability approximately one month ahead and are asked to check in at the St. Stephen room 15 minutes before Mass.
Training will be Saturday, March 11 following the 8:30 am Daily Mass in the church.
Upcoming Events
March 11-12 - Holy Card Uniform Weekend
March 12 - Third Sunday of Lent
March 13-14 - No School
March 15 - Holy Card Free Dress Day
March 17 - Jean Day/Green Shirt
March 19 - Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 21 - Spring Pictures
March 26 - Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 30 - Dads vs. Students Basketball Game @3:15pm
March 30 - March Madness Spirit Raffle Ends
March 31 - Marvelous Mustang
April 2 - Palm Sunday
April 6 - Holy Thursday
April 6 - Noon Dismissal
April 7 - Good Friday
April 7 -14 - No School/Easter Break
Volunteer Hours ALERT
Volunteer hours will be billed in early May at the rate of $50 per hour for those who have not completed the required 20 hours per school year 2022-2023. Please contact Karen Biase, kbiase@sscsfl.org, with concerns or questions on the number of volunteer hours.
FACTS (CSTAG/Heart to Heart) Applications
2023-2024 School Year
The FACTS Application for financial assistance from the school and Diocese is open for the 2023-2024 school year. Applications and documents must be received no later than April 30, 2023, for initial consideration. Please log into your FACTS account to complete the application.
Important note: Diocesan aid is limited. Applications received after the initial consideration deadline of April 30, 2023, for the 23-24 school year maybe be subject to a reduced rate.
For information regarding all financial assistance opportunities, please click here.
Proud of Our SSCS Alumni
John Sumagang was one of two students selected to speak at Jesuit's Open House on 11/2/22.
Each year we are proud to have many of our graduates accepted into both Jesuit and Tampa Catholic.
John Sumagang was one of two students selected to speak at Jesuit's Open House on 11/2/22.
Each year we are proud to have many of our graduates accepted into both Jesuit and Tampa Catholic.
Spring Photos on Tuesday, March 21st
All Students will be photographed. No order forms will be sent home. You will receive an email with instructions on how to proof and order pictures. Student may wear their Sunday best clothes.
PTCO Mustang Book Exchange
The Mustang Book Exchange will be held on Friday, 3/31 from 1 to 3:15 in the East Hall. You are welcome to bring into the school office the books you would like to donate and you will receive a credit that can be used the day of the book exchange. Both students and parents are welcome to visit the exchange on 3/31. If your child does not have a credit, they can purchase a donated book for 25 cents.
REMINDER
Rice Bowls
As the students continue their Lenten journey, hopefully they are reminded to practice almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (from things like sweets and electronics). They can practice almsgiving by donating part of their allowance or money earned from chores to the Catholic Relief Services rice bowls they brought home recently. Rice bowls are due back at school by Monday, April 3. Please click here for more information. Thank you for encouraging them to live our faith.
Click the attachment below to know the information about the inside servers.
Every Gift Is Appreciated
Plans are underway and decisions are being made to start remodeling our Middle School building soon. We are very thankful to all who generously donated to make this remodeling project possible. If you have not yet contributed, please consider a donation. Every gift, regardless of the amount, is appreciated.
Thank you to all our donors,
Top Donors
The Beam Family
The Carapella Family
The Daoud Family
John and Peggy Clarkson
Tom and Nancy Davison
The Kenkel Family
The Lopez Family
The Ross Family
Special Thanks to All Businesses Who Support PTCO
Our PTCO spirit nights were very successful this school year and raised over $1500. PTCO was able to sponsor many exciting events for our students due to the generosity of local businesses. Please continue to support the local businesses who support our school.
Little Greek - Big Bend
Wayback- FishHawk
Panda Express- Bloomingdale
Gasparilla Pizza- Bloomingdale
Dickey's BBQ- 301 Gibsonton Dr.
Bubba's 33- Falkenburg/Causeway
McDonalds - FishHawk
Chipotle- Bloomingdale
Your Pie- Brandon
Tijuana Flats - Riverview 301
Cold Stone -Riverview 301
TITLE Boxing Club- FishHawk
Mustang Sports
MUSTANG SPORTS: The girls track and boys flag football seasons got started this week. The girls track team had practice this week and they will be practicing for the next few weeks until the first field event meet on Tuesday, April 4. The complete girls track event schedule is available on the school webpage under Athletics. The boys flag football team had tryouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Mustangs will start practicing next week. The first game is Wednesday, March 29, against Corpus Christi here at St. Stephen at 4:00. The complete 2023 boys flag football schedule is available on the school website under Athletics.
Field Day 2023 is less than a month away on Wednesday, April 5. K-4th will participate in the morning after Mass from 9:30-11:00 and 5th-8th will attend in the afternoon from 1:00-2:30. There will be fun and competitive activity stations for the students. If there are any parents/families that still need service hours or you would like to volunteer at Field Day please contact Coach Green as soon as possible. Parents can earn two volunteer hours per session. Coach Green needs help supervising the classes for the K-4 session. The 8th graders supervise the activity stations for the younger classes. Help is needed running the activity stations and supervising the classes for the 5th-8th group. Please contact Coach Green if you are interested in volunteering at Field Day 2023. Thank you.
Go Mustangs!
Coach Green
SSCS families:
It’s time to personalize your yearbook!
Remember, each student will receive a yearbook.
You DO NOT need to purchase a yearbook through Treering unless you would like an additional copy. See the directions below.
Registration Now Open!
St. Stephen Catholic Church
Vacation Bible School -
Date: June 12-16, 2023
Vacation Bible School -
Date: June 12-16, 2023
Time: 9:30 – 12:30 pm
·Location: Family Life Center
Summer Camp
Nature's Classroom Institute.
Summer is right around the corner, and Nature's Classroom is excited to announce that they are officially launching an NCI Summer Camp for ages 10-14.
Campers will splash, explore, and learn through hands-on experiences for a full week, June 12th- June 16th, 2023, at their Brooksville site. Details, prices, etc., can be found at: https://www.discovernci.org/florida-summer-camp
For questions, reach out to:
Britta Wood
Education Director-Florida
Nature’s Classroom Institute
682.804.2483
PTCO Now Offers Scrip
Help PTCO earn cash back from gift card purchases.
A simple and easy way to purchase gift cards!
How does it work?
Use the Raise Right App to buy an electronic or physical gift card for hundreds of stores! The school receives a percentage of the gift card purchase! Click here for more information about the program.
Many of your favorite stores and restaurants are included – Target, Walmart, Publix, Outback, Panera, and more!
Going shopping? Buy an electronic gift card for the approximate amount and use it at the check-out line! Click here for more information about ecards.
To get started today, review the RaiseRight Enrollment using the link here and if you have questions, please contact ngallagher@sscsf.org
Thank you for your continued support of SSCS! We hope you find this to be an easy way to make a difference for our school.
Please watch the video here to see how easy it is to purchase scrip from Raise Right.
Easy way to support the PTCO and get your Holiday Gift Cards.
Alumni Updates
Attention: Current School families who have children that are SSCS Alumni
Please help us follow the success of our former students. Kindly share with us updates on how your SSCS graduate is doing in school, in their profession or in pursuing their dreams. We want to be able to congratulate our alumni when they achieve amazing
things and wish them well when they venture into something new and exciting.
A few lines providing name, year graduated from SSCS and update should be sent to ngallagher@sscsfl.org
Please join us for Bingo Nights!
COVID 19 Decision Tree
Safe Environment Training and Fingerprints
Everyone needs updated safe environment training and fingerprints in order to volunteer in the school or to chaperone a field trip. Safe environment and fingerprints are good for 5 years. Attached here are the instructions on how to get your safe environment certificate and to have your fingerprints done. If you have any questions please contact Karen Biase at kbiase@sscsfl.org or call the front office at ext. 1100. Click the link for information here regarding fingerprints. Click for the live link here. For the safe environment click here for the live link .
Check out our
Mustang News morning show!
You can join our Mustang News team each morning at 7:50 as we stream live on YouTube to begin the day with prayers, the pledge of allegiance, and news. Subscribe to our channel here.
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Mission Statement
St. Stephen Catholic School is devoted to inspiring students to achieve their full academic potential while demonstrating a desire to continue Jesus' mission by applying Catholic morals, beliefs, values, and practices in their everyday lives. We are committed to motivating students to sustain a lifelong love of learning.